


Poem: Pied Piper of Hamelin

by PhantomSpade



Series: Fairytale Horrors [9]
Category: Der Rattenfänger von Hameln | The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Fairy Tale), Original Work
Genre: Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Horror, Kidnapping, Music, Plague, Poetry, Rats & Mice, Short, With A Twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 23:20:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16607333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomSpade/pseuds/PhantomSpade
Summary: In many different versions, the town of Hamelin was infested by rats, which led the appearance of the mysterious Pied Piper. The town promised him money if he would lure them away with his music. But when the job was done, they denied him the pay. So as punishment, he took the children away to who knows where.What happened to those who didn't want to pay? Find out in this dark retelling...





	Poem: Pied Piper of Hamelin

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it's been a while! Here's a short little retelling to make it up!

There was a quant little town by the name  
of Hamelin. Once it thrived with life,  
then it was plagued with a force of terror:  
Rats. Rodents that were plague personified.

Villagers tried everything to rid the mice  
and rats. Putrid cheese, traps that snap,  
cats that hungered and chased.  
Yet, they kept on coming and growing.

The plague they had carried spread.  
People grew green, insides shutting  
down, losing all feeling and sense.  
Once it hit, they slept into death.

The rodents kept multiplying,  
drowning Hamelin with their  
bacteria, lethal to the human  
body, costing the sanity. 

Was Hamelin doomed to become  
a nest to the rodents that plagued them? 

Then a miracle stumbled upon the  
cursed town. A man, so mysterious,  
no one knew who he was. All he  
had on him was his rags and his flute.

The man had introduced himself as  
the Pied Piper; Hamelin's own savior  
that promised to rid the rodents within  
the village, only for a price. 

"Dear people of Hamelin, I will rid  
your town of the rats and mice running  
rampant and destroying your peace!  
Pay me your gold and I will do so!" 

Hamelin was wary, uncertain of the  
piper's words. Yet they were desperate.  
Their methods did nothing, they hastily  
accepted the piper's proposition.

The Pied Piper had went to work.  
By the melodic voice of his flute,  
the rodents had entered a trance,  
the music seducing their senses. 

With dancing feet, the piper had  
lured the music-enchanted rodents  
behind them; the rats dancing merrily,  
the mice mimicking the melody of doom. 

There was a boat waiting for the rodents.  
The piper played his tunes and  
commanded the rodents on board.  
All until every one of them were inside.

With one last soothing tune, the  
piper sang the boat to swim the  
streaming waters. But with a sudden  
screech of note, the boat of rats sank. 

He had done it. The Pied Piper had  
vanquished the rodents into  
the River Styx. It was time to pay.

Alas, the people of Hamelin chose  
to withhold his pay, greed refusing  
him his reward. Little did the town  
knew that they should've paid the price.

The next several days of peace.  
Hamelin was a paradise of health,  
thriving with life it did before the  
rodents that ruined their town. 

Air was greedily drank, no longer  
toxic with the stench of rat.  
Hamelin was joyous, believed  
that they would never go back to he'll.

But one day, the Pied Piper had  
came back, with a vengeance  
If he could not get his pay,  
then he would take away one thing:

Hamelin's precious children.

With the voice of his flute, the  
piper played a seductive melody;  
the children had heard it, their ears  
stuck in a trance, and they had followed.

The children had trailed behind him,  
ears filled with his lustful melodies  
and voices that made them begged  
for more. Their minds were clouded. 

The townspeople had realized what  
happened, but they were too late.  
They could only watch in despair  
as their children disappear from them. 

All but at least three remained.  
One slow he couldn't be fast;  
one deaf she couldn't hear;  
and one blind he couldn't see. 

Despite these three children,  
Hamelin went into despair,  
their many children gone,  
believing they were gone forever.

Then one day, the Pied Piper had  
returned to Hamelin, along with  
the children he had lured with  
him not unlike the rodents.

"Dear people of Hamelin, I have come  
to return what is precious to you all!  
Your children are safe and will be  
given back. There will be no pay." 

Alas, a smile that had brought the  
devil to his knees had spread upon  
the piper's handsome features. Then  
the flute was brought to his cruel lips. 

He played a song, a song so sweet  
and soothing to everyone's ears,  
yet to the children before him,  
it brought them an agonizing pain. 

Screaming and writhing, forms slowly  
shriveled up in size, growing small and short.  
Eyes shrunk into little black beads, teeth  
elongated, then hair covered every skin.

Soon, the screams turned to squeaks,  
hands and feet morphed into naked  
paws, skin grew into matted fur, and  
their innocent minds became feral.

Hamelin had watched, paralyzed at  
the sight that happened before them.  
Their children were no longer their  
children. They were the repulsive rats. 

With one last melody from his flute,  
the Pied Piper had sung to the rats  
to do as they pleased. And so they  
had chosen to plague Hamelin. 

Hamelin could only watch and scream,  
the town relieving the nightmare  
they had escaped from. The town  
had soon succumbed to their mistake. 

The Piper watched with cold eyes  
at the fallen Hamelin.  
"This is the consequence of denying  
the bargain. This was the price to pay."


End file.
